The Goddess Granted Me the [Hatching] Skill and Somehow I Became the Strongest Tamer, Commanding Mythical and Divine Beasts - 160

Chapter 160: The Members-Only Shop

The reception room they guided me to had furnishings on display, though more modest than the nobles’ rooms in the castle.

Once we entered the room and sat facing each other on the sofas, a maid soon brought us tea.

Olivia the princess liked it, so I drank it every day during breaks in my office work, but this had an even richer aroma that outdid it.

Edward and I took sips of the tea, and once the maid left the room, we started talking.

“Thank you for making time in your busy schedule today.”

The place was so popular that booking was tough, but this time I managed to get a slot pretty quickly. I thanked him for that first.

“We’re honored to have the famous Lord Klaus visit us.”

He bowed with gentlemanly poise that didn’t come off as flattery. I’d only recently started learning etiquette, so I found myself admiring how perfect his stance was.

“So, what brings you here today?”

Edward followed up with a question for me.

I had a specific purpose for visiting this shop.

“Actually, I have something I’d like you to buy from me… Is it true that transactions here never leak out anywhere?”

My goal was to deal in materials.

“Yes, with the caveat that it’s legal and not tied to any crimes, we never disclose information about customers who sell to us.”

Hearing that put my mind at ease.

“What sort of items do you have for sale?”

“Mostly B-rank materials that I’ve been supplying to the Tamer Guild.”

Up to now, I’d had the Tamer Guild sell materials harvested from my familiars on my behalf, but now that I was a noble, I couldn’t keep doing that. Nobles were expected to earn wealth through their own discretion.

I was still registered with the guild as a tamer, but since the Tamer Guild operated under the Boyle Count family, continuing to outsource sales there would make other nobles see me as under the Boyle family’s protection.

Douglas had told me, “It looks bad for a new noble to rely on me completely. You should start your own business first.”

So, even if I set up my own operation and sold independently, I lacked the manpower, and I wanted to avoid personal deals with nobles that might lead to demands like “Sell to me too.” That’s why I hoped to do business with this shop.

“I see. If that’s the case, I think we can be of service.”

When I explained my situation, he nodded agreeably.

“The items I mentioned earlier are the basics, but actually, I have a main attraction…”

I’d already let rainbow scale powder, phoenix feathers, and lately even crystal cockatrice feathers and scales circulate on the market.

Feeling like I could trust him, I decided to take the next step.

“Could you take a look at this?”

I pulled a small box from my pocket.

This would be the first time releasing it to the market. The “protecting customer info” bit I’d brought up earlier wasn’t about the B-rank materials—it was to keep the source of this item from being traced.

“Yes, by all means, let me see it.”

With his okay, I opened the small box. Inside gleamed a rainbow-colored gemstone.

“Hmm, this has a beautiful color.”

Edward observed the rainbow gemstone without so much as twitching an eyebrow.

“Pardon me, may I examine it more closely?”

“Yes, go ahead.”

He picked it up with a gloved hand and began appraising it.

“This is a catalyst effective for alchemy. I remember seeing one before.”

“Huh?”

His unexpected words caught me off guard.

“Uh… where did you see it?”

“That would involve a customer’s confidentiality, so I can’t say.”

Edward shook his head.

His guard was tight, but the straightforward refusal actually reassured me.

I’d only given this gemstone to three people: Tabasa, Lorraine, and Celia. Nine times out of ten, it was Tabasa. I could quiz her later to confirm.

“If I sold this, how much would it go for?”

Right now, I needed to gauge the gemstone’s value.

I got to the point.

“…Well, let’s see.”

Edward rolled the gemstone around in his gloved palm.

With a serious look on his face, he operated a magic tool, reading the gemstone’s info and running calculations.

After about five minutes, once the appraisal wrapped up, he announced the result.

“This gemstone is worth a hundred gold coins.”

“…A hundred coins?”

It matched exactly what Tabasa and Lorraine had paid me, so I was stunned. Apparently, their appraisal skills were on par with Edward’s.

“It’s excellent as a catalyst, and as a gemstone, its coloring appeals to nobles, so demand should be high.”

In fact, Tabasa and Lorraine were making maximum use of it at the Alchemist Guild.

Considering how it boosted potion effects and such, the price seemed fair.

“So, what will you do?”

I’d only brought two rainbow gemstones this time, and I could sell them, but…

“Pardon, is this all right?”

“Yes?”

As I hesitated, Edward spoke up.

“You’re a recent noble, aren’t you, Lord Klaus?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

I nodded to his question.

“As a noble, your income and expenses will skyrocket compared to before. It’s best to have as much financial leeway as possible.”

It sounded like advice from someone who’d seen plenty of nobles. Feeling like he had my best interests at heart, I decided to trust his words.

“Please buy it outright.”

“Thank you. Now, if you could hold your ID magic tool up to this stand.”

The magic tool for my national adventurer ID that I’d used before. I’d turned that in and now had a new one for my noble status. I held it up to the stand as instructed.

“Here are the gold coins for the purchase.”

Edward offered a tray loaded with the coins and a bag.

On the tray sat stacks of ten gold coins each, twenty stacks in total. Lately, I’d grown numb to it, but this amount could support a family of four comfortably for twenty years.

“Yes, that’s two hundred coins.”

After confirming the amount and seeing no issues, Edward started bagging the coins.

“Now that we’ve done business, you can make reservations through the items shown on your ID from now on.”

Following his directions, I operated the screen on the magic tool, and available dates popped up. It was definitely handier than sending letters every time for bookings.

This noble ID doubled for entering the royal castle, so its security was top-tier.

It granted the same privileges as a national adventurer qualification, which made losing it a real hassle.

“What are your plans after this?”

With the deal done, Edward asked me.

“After this?”

“It’s fine if you’re just here for the buyout, but if you’d like, I could show you around our goods.”

I’d accomplished my goal, but I wasn’t uninterested in their rare items.

“Sure, I’d like to see them.”

My wallet wasn’t flush enough to buy anything now, but for future reference, it was worth looking.

“This way, then.”

Edward stood and led me deeper into the shop.